The ministry reports that 23 different countries from across the globe are connecting travellers directly to the Maldives, leading to easy access as travellers do not have to do layovers in any other destinations to reach the Maldives.
SunOnline International
As the Maldives get ready to welcome travellers to spend their festive season in the tropical islands of the Maldives, it appears that the country is getting ready to end yet another year with a high number of arrivals. Each year, the Government sets an arrival goal - and even with the fluctuations throughout the year, the Maldives manages to reach the goal or get close to reaching the goal towards the end of the year as travellers from all corners of the world visit the idyllic destination to spend their holidays.
Although the industry appears to be doing well even with the recently increased Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) and Goods and Services Tax (GST), the arrivals for November 2024 saw a decline compared to the same time in 2023. According to statistics from the Ministry of Tourism, there was a decline of around 31,278 arrivals - this figure, however, may show positive changes moving forward as the Maldives currently is reported to have 43 airlines from 23 countries currently connecting travellers to the destination. The ministry reports that 23 different countries from across the globe are connecting travellers directly to the Maldives, leading to easy access as travellers do not have to do layovers in any other destinations to reach the Maldives.
The Ministry further reported that as of November 20th, 2024, the Maldives has welcomed a total of 1.77 million tourists - reaching closer to the arrival goal just a month shy of the end of the year. With the target for 2024 being 2 million arrivals, some markets are continuing to show a high number of arrivals this year. The top ten markets for the Maldives’ 2024 arrivals include China, Russia, the U.K., Germany, Italy, India, the U.S.A., France, Spain, and Switzerland.
As countries such as China and Russia have started showing high numbers of tourist arrivals since the COVID-19 restriction was lifted with direct flights from destinations such as Azerbaijan being introduced, Maldives has yet to welcome a large number of tourists in the coming month.
